George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin Case: Time Line of Events

The Crime Scene

Pictured here is the area of Twin Lakes where the shooting occurred. In the northwest corner is roughly where Zimmerman is said to have parked his Honda on Twin Trees Lane after he made his way westbound from the clubhouse, still on the phone with the non emergency dispatcher. He describes getting out of his vehicle here after Trayvon approached him and then ran off.  The red X denotes where police reported Trayvon's body was found. 

 In the reenactment, Zimmerman recalls Martin cutting between the houses as he ran off. He effectively lost sight of him for the rest of his call with the dispatcher. His exact path is unknown. We know Zimmerman had no visual on him, so its unclear if he may have gone straight down the path or simply cut the corner and ducked out of sight in the darkness, perhaps behind a fence by a house. George seems to describe him coming from the eastern side, rather than the western side where the body was found.

 Zimmerman admittedly went straight down the cut thru, in hopes of getting an address to relay to police or perhaps getting a glimpse of Martin making his way to the back gate, where he seemed to think he was running to. George seemingly has no idea where Trayvon is according to the last two minutes of his police call. He ends the call and shortly after begins walking westward back to his vehicle. 

 George ends his call at 7:13:40 pm. We know very little about what happens at this point, but its likely the confrontation didn't occur until two minutes or so later. Its unknown what exactly each person did for this few minutes but its clear neither went particularly far. However, if Martin ran at around 7:11 and they didn't cross paths until around 7:15 it remains to be seen why he ended up north by the T, when he seemed to be running south. Zimmerman claims he was on the cut thru the entire time but its unclear what he did in the 2 minutes or so after his police call. Did he simply linger around the Retreat View Circle side trying to get his flashlight to work? We simply don't know, but for both people a lot of time seemed to pass without a lot of movement.

Timeline of Events

6:29 pm - Martin leaves 711

Trayvon Martin left the 711 store at about 6:30 pm that night, and possibly arrived back at Twin Lakes around 7 pm. However, the walk back home under normal circumstances would have took less time than that so whether he simply took his time while talking on the phone, or perhaps went somewhere other than straight home, we'll likely never know.

6:54 pm - DeeDee calls Trayvon

"DeeDee", often described as Trayvon's girlfriend calls at this time, presumably as he is making his way back to Twin Lakes.  Later in her interviews with the state attorney, she mentions he initially sought refuge from the rain at an overhang by a "mail shed", presumably by the clubhouse. She goes on to say the phone then hung up, and upon making contact again Trayvon mentions a man is watching him and be begins walking.

7:09:34 pm - George Zimmerman begins his non emergency call

At this time Zimmerman connects with a non emergency police number to report Trayvon as a suspicious person who appears to be closely looking at some of the houses in the area. He later elaborates he first sees Martin cutting into the community from the northwest corner, in an area that is not gated between houses.

7:11:41 pm - Trayvon runs

Zimmerman, presumably parked on Twin Trees now, describes Martin as approaching his vehicle "to check him out" with "his hand in his waistband". Based on his demeanor, Trayvon does appear to be close and then runs off. Still on the phone with non emergency, Zimmerman exits his car under the impression Martin is headed for the back gate.

7:12 pm (approx.) - DeeDee reconnects with Trayvon

The previous phone call starting at 6:54 disconnects, and the two reconnect quickly again. DeeDee later says Trayvon briefly lost the man and tells him to run to his dad's house.

7:12:11 - "He ran"

George once again reiterates that Trayvon has run, and goes on to say he has no idea where he is. He is still on foot at this point, and later describes making his way on the cut thru onto Retreat View Circle.

7:13:40 pm - George hangs up

Zimmerman ends his non emergency call and he agrees to have police call him back and meet with him when they arrive.

7:15:30 pm (approx.) - Zimmerman and Martin cross paths

The first words are spoken around this time and the fight erupts quickly after. By Zimmerman's account, he is making his way back to his vehicle on the cut thru when Trayvon appears from the darkness and asks what he is problem is. George replies he has no problem to which Martin replies "You do now" and punches him in the face, knocking him down.

DeeDee is a bit more vague in her account. She doesn't really go into detail as to the context in which they met but seemingly once the two were close enough to each other Trayvon first asks "Why are you following me?" to which George says "What are you doing around here?"

7:16 pm (approx.) - DeeDee's call ends

DeeDee claims she hears details of the onset of the fight, including the two speaking to each other. She goes on to later say it sounds like Trayvon is pushed, there are sounds indicative of a scuffle and apparently she hears Trayvon say "Get off, get off" faintly. At that point the phone goes dead.

7:16:11 pm - First 911 call comes in

Witness 11 is the first to call 911, describing to the operator an apparent fight in progress. This is the call that goes on to capture both the screams and the gunshot.

7:16:41 pm - Second 911 call

Witness 3 is the next caller to report the events unfolding. Though, not as close to the fight as witness 11, the gunshot is still faintly heard on this call as well.

7:16:56 pm - Gunshot

A single shot is fired, prompting several more 911 calls.

7:17 pm (approx.) - First police officer arrives

Around this time the first responding officer, Timothy Smith arrives at Twin Lakes and proceeds to make his way to the crime scene. 

7:19 pm - Zimmerman's injuries captured on iPhone

Witness 13, another close resident, apparently makes contact with George before Officer Smith arrives. He speaks briefly to George and proceeds to take three pictures with his iPhone: a flashlight, Trayvon's body and the infamous photo of the bloodied back of Zimmerman's head.

7:19:30 pm (approx.) - Police make contact

At this point, Officer Smith makes contact with George, removes his weapon and begins to sort out what happened.

7:23 pm and onward -

EMTs arrive and attempt CPR on Martin. He is later pronounced dead at around 7:30 pm. George is subsequently taken into custody and transported to the police station. A crime scene is officially in effect and technicians arrive shortly after to process the evidence.